DEC unveils its vision for Staten Island's South Shore tracts

Advance file photoSouth Shore residents can comment on the state's draft management plan during two sessions Wednesday at the CYO Center at Mount Loretto in Pleasant Plains.

The state hopes to build an educational center at Mount Loretto and it commits in a proposed 10-year management plan to create more walking trails and research opportunities across hundreds of acres it controls there and in other South Shore preserves.

But don't expect horseback riders or model airplane enthusiasts, the folks who were politely asked to leave the Mount Loretto area when the state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) took over the waterside land in 2000, to be welcomed back.

It's also unlikely other woodlands controlled by the DEC will ever be used for ballfields.

South Shore residents can comment on the state's draft management plan during two sessions Wednesday at the CYO Center at Mount Loretto in Pleasant Plains. The afternoon session begins with an open house at 2 p.m. and a public comment period will take place from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. The evening open house starts at 6 p.m., with a public comment period from 7 to 9 p.m.

NO MORE HORSES

In its 150-page draft management plan posted on its Web site, the DEC outlines a series of steps it will take over the next decade to maintain the nearly 400 acres it controls at Mount Loretto in Pleasant Plains; Lemon Creek Park, Prince's Bay; Bloesser's Pond, Prince's Bay, and Arden Heights Woods.

Those steps focus on protecting wildlife and the natural features of the land, rather than creating ballfields and active parks.

A learning center for Mount Loretto is considered a longer-term goal for the site.

"Certain activities may be incompatible with the ecological goals for the sites and will not be allowed. As an example, horseback riding would be too disruptive for the upland trail system at the Mount Loretto Unique Area but is allowed on the beachfront," said DEC spokesman Thomas Panzone.

Cherryl Mitchell, owner of Richer Farm in Charleston, said not having access to those trails is just another blow to the disappearing horsemen's community here.

One stable, which was located near the Mount Loretto property, has already closed.

"I'm totally disappointed," she said. "With all this parkland, they have never taken into consideration the one heritage of Staten Island -- the horse community."

Hikers, fishermen, photographers and dog walkers (canines on a leash, please) are welcome in the preserve between dawn and dusk. Sledding during daylight hours also is permitted.

ROLLING OUT THE RED CARPET

State Sen. Andrew Lanza (R-Staten Island) said he'd like to see more public events at DEC-owned properties like Mount Loretto.

"They have not exactly rolled out the red carpet," he said of DEC. "I think they need to do a better job to make it more inviting and to open it up to a lot of people. Let people know it's there for them to enjoy."

"This Unit Management Plan is a step forward in that direction, and we look forward to working with Senator Lanza and other public officials to promote this resource," countered the DEC's Panzone.

The state purchased 200 acres of waterside property from the Archdiocese of New York in 1999. It acquired another 75 acres of archdiocese property on the other side of Hylan Boulevard in 2006. That property has since been renamed the North Mount Loretto Forest. According to the report, it contains a series of springs, marshes and a variety of frogs and salamanders.

Nearby Lemon Creek in Prince's Bay is part of a larger area owned by the city Parks Department. Bloesser's Pond is a freshwater wetland located on Woodvale Avenue, and Arden Heights Woods is a forested area located between Arthur Kill Road, Arden Avenue and Woodrow Road.